They operate in private homes and register candidates for examinations through recognised schools.

The proliferation of illegal driving schools in the port city of Douala is disturbing. Some driving schools, which do not fulfil the 28 April, 2000 conditions regulating the sector, operate in private homes. As to how the illegal schools register candidates for driving tests, a staff of one of the renowned driving schools in the region said they register candidates through some of the 167 recognised driving schools in the Littoral Region.

According to the Littoral Regional Delegate for Transport, Pamela Ayuketah, the Minister of Transport gave a one-year period of grace to schools operating illegally. Once the deadline expires, the Delegate assured, crackdown will be the next step. Those operating in private homes and those who have not finished their registration procedures, will be shutdown.

Apart from providing documents including certificate of non-conviction, complete files of two instructors for practicals and a list of already acquired learning material, driving school vehicles must have two pedals; one for the student and the other for the instructor. Intending schools must also obtain insurance cover and carry out road worthiness checks every three months.

In another development, the driving school strike action that saw the boycott of last May’s national driving test, has since been lifted. According to Pamela Ayuketah, some 3,496 candidates sat the June session as against 87 in May.  The June examination session that ended on July 1, 2015, was conducted in a calm and serene atmosphere.